


A Woof Conversation

by soufflegirl91



Series: Souffle's 007 Fest 2020 Fancreations [4]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Bond's new pet, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Not in a sexy way, also Cats because Q, and unexpected conversations, but also domestic frustration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25065352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soufflegirl91/pseuds/soufflegirl91
Summary: Bond brings home a dog. Q isn't happy (at first).
Relationships: James Bond/Q
Series: Souffle's 007 Fest 2020 Fancreations [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809892
Comments: 13
Kudos: 52
Collections: 007 Fest Fancreations





	A Woof Conversation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scarytheory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarytheory/gifts).



> This is the first of my Fest collab prompts. The prompt was from Scarytheory who prompted "Bond brings home a dog. Q isn't happy (at first)."
> 
> It took a turn I didn't expect, but I hope you enjoy it, my dear!
> 
> Not beta-ed, because it is Fest and we die like men.

“What,” said Q, staring at the…  _ thing _ in the middle of his hallway, “is  _ that?” _

“Q, meet Gavin.” James was  _ smiling. _ Like he had done something to be  _ proud of. _

“Gavin?” Q parroted, blankly.

“Woof,” said Gavin. 

The dog sat in the middle of Q’s hallway like he  _ owned _ the place, barking happily and wagging his tail. It was… oh, who was Q kidding, he knew nothing about dog breeds other than to say it obviously  _ wasn’t _ a dalmatian. Breed wasn’t important. What  _ was _ important, however, was…

“You  _ bought a dog _ ?” he hissed. 

“Well,  _ bought _ is being a bit generous,” James shrugged. Like this wasn’t a big deal. He was  _ very _ wrong! “He was following me around Paris and didn’t seem to have a home, so I just…  _ brought  _ him home with me.”

Oh, yes, very clever. Emphasising a  _ slight _ change of word like it made such a  _ huge _ difference and didn’t mean that James had  _ let a fucking dog into his house!  _ Q had  _ cats, _ damnit! 

“Let me rephrase that,” said Q, through gritted teeth, “you  _ brought _ a dog  _ into my home _ and you  _ didn’t think to tell me?! _ ” 

The proud smile dropped off James’s face like… well like an agent realising that he’d effectively just made a terrible, life threatening mistake. He gulped. 

_ Good _ , thought Q, viciously. 

“Did you not think that I might like to be  _ consulted _ , before you bring home an extra mouth to feed?! One who, I might add, needs  _ walking _ multiple times a day.”

Gavin, apparently not noticing the tension in the suddenly very narrow hallway, yipped again. He bounced to his feet, trotting over to greet Q properly. Although he was angry at James, Q wasn’t  _ heartless _ , so he reached down to let Gavin sniff his hand. He obviously passed muster, as Gavin gave him a friendly lick and ducked his head so that Q’s hand was resting at the top of his neck. Q scratched obligingly, turning his attention back to James

James, who looked simultaneously like a kicked puppy and like all his dreams had come true. 

“Carrot and Cheery like him,” James blurted out, before Q could say anything. 

As if on cue, the smaller and more confident of Q’s cats appeared in the doorway to the living room. Gavin bounded over to Cheery and Q felt himself tense. What would he do if James’s dog attacked his darling cats? What would  _ James _ do when Cheery inevitably presented Gavin with claws to the face? It was a recipe for disaster. 

He should get his phone out, ready to call the vet. He should-

Gavin circled Cheery a few times, tail wagging in delight. Cheery didn’t even bat an eye. When Gavin plopped down beside her, the munchkin cat sidled up to him and sat down, snuggling in his fur. 

Q gaped. 

“I told you,” James said from behind Q, a smile in his voice. Q’s eyes snapped to him, still trying to process this new development. “The cats like him. We have the space. There’s no reason we can’t keep him.”

There was something unreadable in James’s eyes as Q started at him. It looked like  _ longing _ , and… not pride? Satisfaction maybe? 

“What about work? Dogs require a lot more attention than cats. We could probably get a dog walker, but what about when you’re on a mission? I’m often at work for days at a time. The cats have free roam and automated feeders, but a  _ dog? _ ” Q looked away, wiping his slobber-covered hand on his trousers and trying not to feel like he was crushing all of James’s hopes and dreams. 

“What if I wasn’t on mission?” The deceptively casual tone had Q once again turning his gaze to James. 

“Well, downtime doesn’t last forever,” he said, carefully. He had a distinct feeling that James didn’t  _ mean _ downtime.

“What if it did?” 

“James,” Q started, trying not to jump to conclusions, “I think you’d better explain what you mean.  _ Clearly. _ ”

Gavin barked in agreement. 

“What if I retired as a double oh?” 

Oh. This was it, then. They’d been talking about James’s inevitable retirement in vague, uncertain terms for months, but James hadn’t wanted to make the decision just yet. Until now.

“Well then,” Q said breezily, clicking his fingers at Gavin and smiling when the dog came bounding over, “I think we’d best make a pot of tea, and you can tell me how you think this will work.” 


End file.
